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Company Case 2 Samsung: A Strategic Plan for Success Synopsis In less than two decades, Samsung has gone from a little-known copycat consumer electronics brand to the largest consumer electronics company in the world by a wide margin. It accomplished this by setting lofty goals and by creating a culture of innovation. Samsung didn’t just think outside the box. It broke the box wide open by bringing outsiders in and sending insiders abroad, resulting in one of the freshest thinking work forces. With an investment budget that far exceeds the competition, these folks are charged with creating products that it calls “lifestyle works of art”—products that must pass a “Wow!” test during market testing. As a result, Samsung is near the top of almost every consumer electronics category. And more than just big, Samsung is recognized worldwide as one of the most innovative companies. Teaching Objectives The teaching objectives for this case are to: 1. Introduce students to the concepts of business and marketing strategy. 2. Highlight the difference between a mission statement and a market-oriented mission statement. 3. Establish the role of goals and objectives in marketing strategy. 4. Help students understand the importance of the business portfolio in growing a business. 5. Introduce the marketing mix as a core concept of marketing. Discussion Questions 1. How was Samsung able to go from a copycat brand to an innovation leader? Samsung had a visionary leader. Lee Kun-hee, Fortune’s CEO of the decade, was ahead of his time. He was not content to remain the best of the knock-off brands. Rather, he set high goals (to become the biggest consumer electronics company and to surpass Sony) and established a strategic plan to accomplish those goals. Samsung accomplished its goals in less than two decades. 2. In recent years, how has Samsung achieved its goals in markets where it had little presence, such as smartphones? Samsung has been able to penetrate markets with its strategy of creating “Wow!” designs. With cutting edge designs to rival or even surpass those of Apple, customers are quick to crave them. Even today, the only smartphone company to truly rival Apple in terms of “must have” gadgets is Samsung.
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